Abbas’ Fatah rips P.A. meeting with Israeli lawmakers

July 11, 2013 7:05am

(JTA) — Fatah, the political party of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, criticized P.A. representatives for meeting with Israeli politicians.

In a meeting this week set up by the Geneva Initiative, a group that advocates Israeli-Palestinian peace, members of the ruling right-wing Likud Party and opposition Sephardi Orthodox Shas party met with PLO Secretary-General Yasser Abed Rabbo and several other senior Palestinian officials, according to The Jerusalem Post.

On Tuesday, Fatah condemned the meeting because it promoted “normalization” with Israel. Other Palestinian political organizations also joined in the condemnation.

“We condemn normalization and those behind it,” the Hamas statement read, according to the Post. “Such meetings are void of political content and a waste of time. They are unjustified, nationally and politically.”

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has taken five trips to the region this year to encourage resumption of negotiations between Israel and the P.A.